Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
US Col. Rabbi Jacob Goldstein Sees Grandson Inducted Into IDF Haredi Paratrooper Unit
Error: Contact form not found.
by JNS.org
Col. Rabbi Jacob Goldstein, former chief chaplain of the New York Army National Guard, with his grandson, Joe Brickman of Brooklyn, N.Y., who received his red beret from the haredi paratrooper company Chetz on Feb. 21, 2019. Photo: Revah Hafakot.
JNS.org – Thirty-five soldiers from the haredi paratrooper company known as Chetz received their red berets on Thursday in a ceremony at Jerusalem’s Ammunition Hill.
Among the new paratroopers is Joe Brickman, of Brooklyn, NY, grandson of Col. Rabbi Jacob Goldstein, former chief chaplain of the New York Army National Guard. The rabbi made a special trip to Israel to congratulate his grandson and fellow soldiers.
Goldstein served in the US Army for 38 years. He enlisted after encouragement from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
A Chabad rabbi, Goldstein was seen as something of a trailblazer—the first soldier to receive a US military exemption from shaving his beard. His military career led him around the world, to Bosnia, South Korea, Afghanistan, Cuba and Iraq.
During the Gulf War, Goldstein traveled to Israel along with an American delegation, and during the 9/11 attacks, his National Guard unit was among the first to arrive on the terror scene in Manhattan.
He retired in 2015 at the mandatory retirement age of 68.
Chetz, the Hebrew acronym of “Charedi Tzanchanim” (Haredi Paratroopers) was founded in the beginning of 2017 following the outstanding success of the haredi Netzach Yehuda (Nahal Haredi) Brigade.
Nahal Haredi organization rabbis, who escort the soldiers throughout their years of army service and beyond, said: “We are thrilled with the successful integration of a haredi company into the paratroopers. Chetz paratroopers prove that it is, indeed, possible to serve in combat units in the IDF without compromising on an authentic haredi lifestyle.”
